GE’s C-Reach hub adds Google Assistant and Alexa support to its budget smart lights

Buying a set of budget smart lights is one of the simplest and cheapest ways to smarten up your dumb home. IKEA recently jumped into the market with its TRÅDFRI range, but GE's C-series bulbs have been around for much longer.

Now, GE is upgrading its low-cost smart lighting range with the release of the C-Reach – a hub that lets users control their lighting setup with Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa voice commands.

The hub is priced at $50 as a standalone purchase. It's also available as a bundle with two white light-only C-Life bulbs for $65, or $85 with two color-changing "Sleep" bulbs. If you can wait a few days, the two sets will be discounted on Cyber Monday, with the C-Life pack selling for $50 and the "Sleep" set down to $65.

Even with the discounts, adding the C-Reach into the equation significantly bumps up the price of GE's budget bulbs, but it does make them far smarter.

Read: What is Google Assistant? How can you use it?

On their own, the C-series lights are restricted to Bluetooth connectivity which restricts them to simple, localized commands via your phone. The C-Reach hub, meanwhile, adds Wi-Fi support, which lets you turn your lights on or off from anywhere in the world.

The hub also supports voice commands from any Assistant or Alexa-enabled devices, such as a Home or Echo smart speaker or any phone with Assistant. GE has also promised to add support for Apple's HomeKit in the first quarter of 2018 (via The Verge).

Will you be picking up a pack of smart lights on Black Friday/Cyber Monday? Let us know in the comments, or head over to Amazon using the button below to buy a C-Reach hub now.

Buy now: GE C-Reach at Amazon

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